In engineering, fast prototyping is not a new concept. However, new technologies utilizing three-dimensional printers and open-source microcontrollers like Arduino have made prototyping an ever more powerful approach in research as well as in education. One can transfer his/her design into a device in a matter of hours or a day through 3D printing. Meanwhile, the control of the device can be easily achieved via an Arduino platform. In this talk, I would like to share a few examples of the implementation of these tools. We design and build photovoltaic cell phone chargers and LED message wands in our Engineering class employing the technologies mentioned above. A similar approach has also been used in my robotic leech research project. Fast prototyping has drastically shortened the development time and effectively transformed our creativity into innovation.

Dr. Tian received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia, where she did an interdisciplinary research on leech swimming and published in the Journal of Comparative Physiology and The Journal of Experimental Biology. She taught statistics and calculus in Miller School and read AP exams for the ETS and the College Board. She joined the Eastern Mennonite University as an assistant professor in 2013, where she teaches engineering and mathematical courses and does her research in the field of Mechanical Engineering. Her hobbies are hiking and reading. When hiking she enjoys striking new routes, although there is one trail she is especially fond of. It happens to be called Old Trail.